1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system and method for the automated data acquisition and processing of traffic information in real time. Specifically, the present invention provides a system whereby up-to-the-minute information on the current traffic conditions surrounding a work zone or an incident on the road (e.g., a traffic accident) is communicated to drivers upstream of the work zone or incident via any number of independent visual or auditory display devices under common, wireless control.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently, systems used in controlling traffic conditions around work zones and incidents on the road are limited to the use of conventional static signs, flashing arrow signs, portable variable message signs (VMS) programmed with a single repeating message, or no signs at all. These methods provide little or no information useful to drivers for either avoiding the development of a traffic jam or finding alternative routes. Though portions of the highways close to large metropolitan areas are often equipped with permanently installed VMSs and traffic signal lights designed to control the in-flow or out-flow of traffic in the highways, there are large stretches of highways that lack any facilities for controlling the flow of traffic on the highway that are usable around work zones or incidents on the road. Rather, the same conventional methods with the same conventional equipment as described above are used and provide the same limited information to drivers. Even if permanently installed VMSs are available, current methods in the use of such devices also provide very limited information for drivers in avoiding traffic jams due to the presence of work areas and/or roadside incidents, and such information is not credible because the messages they convey are typically not appropriate to existing conditions.
Therefore, there exists a need for a system that can provide up-to-the-minute information on the current traffic conditions around a work zone or roadway incident such that drivers are able to use information to either change their speed or lane position to avoid traffic jams, or find and navigate alternative routes.
Finally, there exists a need for a system that can monitor the current traffic conditions such that the data provided by the system to drivers on the road is understood to be pertinent to those current conditions, at a specified point in time, thereby maximizing the usefulness of the outputted information.